Will An Appraisal Help?

What is going on with Bank of America these days?  Ok, ok, I'll give you a chance to stop laughing (or crying) and regain your composure.  What?  That might take a while?  

Seriously though, I don't have a working knowledge of BofA short sales in other parts of the country, but if what I read and hear is reliable, it doesn't appear to be much different than my wonderful little part of the globe.  It appeared there for a while, albeit and very short while, that BofA had improved their responsiveness and willingness to work with, and approve, short sales.  Personally, I was receiving prompt responses to all my inquiries and things were moving along quickly with Equator and the system as a whole. 

Then we arrived at that brick wall, or more accurately, we slammed into it.  As some of you may have guessed, I'm referring to the valuation of the property.  From what I've been reading lately this seems to be a common issue with BofA these days.  I'm not referring to a slight difference of opinion on the valuation, I'm talking extreme, what are you thinking, type difference.  I even received an email from the negotiator stating that the investor (Fannie Mae) was concerned that accepting such an offer would adversely affect values in the area.  Mind you, the offer submitted was a good offer, as a matter-of-fact, it was a great offer.  

I won't go into the ugly details - you can fill in the blanks.  Let's just say it hasn't been pleasant.  We tried everything, even offering to have an appraisal done.  We were basically told not to waste the time or money.  The investor wouldn't budge.  Finally, someone at BofA "didn't" tell us to go ahead with the appraisal.  We ultimately had an appraisal done and although BofA supposedly reduced their valuation and we were to receive an approval letter in a couple of days, that was 2 weeks ago and not only are we still waiting for the approval letter, now I can't get any response whatsoever. 

Do I think the appraisal helped?  Yes I do.  Do I think BofA has gotten any better working short sales?  Give me a few minutes while I try to regain my composure.